25. BMS Associates (

Fee and commission income (2000): £29.1m
Pre-tax profit (1999): £3.3m

Address:
Latham House
16 Minories
London
EC3N 1AX
Tel: 020 7480 7288
Fax: 020 7488 9837/020 7480 5207
Email: firstname.lastname@bmsgroup.com
Website: bmsgroup.com

History: The BMS Group is an independent, employee-owned broking and advisory organisation founded in 1980. The founding company of the group, Ballantyne McKean & Sullivan, is a specialist North American non-marine treaty reinsurance broker, and was admitted as a Lloyd's broker in 1984. Since then, a programme of expansion and diversification has seen the formation and acquisition of several further specialist broking units, including the acquisition in 1997 of BMS Harris & Dixon Insurance Brokers, itself one of the longest-established broking firms in the world.

Chief officer: Graham McKean, executive chairman
Major shareholders: Directors and employees own 74%; AHJ Investments Ltd owns 26%.

Main lines of business: The group handles a wide variety of international reinsurance, binding authority and insurance programme business, both marine and non-marine. Notable specialisms include property catastrophe, professional liability, accident and health, and financial lines.

Number of UK branches: 2
Number of employees (average for 2000): 284